Detonator of the population explosion

摘要

Wlthout ammonia, there would be no inorganic fertilizers, and nearly half the world would go hungry. Of all the century's technological marvels, the Haber-Bosch process has made the most difference to our survival. What is the most important invention of the twentieth century? Aeroplanes, nuclear energy, space flight, television and computers will be the most common answers. Yet none of these can match the synthesis of ammonia from its elements. The world might be better off without Microsoft and CNN, and neither nuclear reactors nor space shuttles are critical to human well-being. But the world's population could not have grown from 1.6 billion in 1900 to today's six billion without the Haber-Bosch process.